PHOTOS New year, new babies as Collier, Lee welcome first-borns of 2010

After spending more than a week in the hospital, Victoria Perez got a special delivery on New Year's Day.

Her new daughter, Victoria Yessica, came a few hours after the world rang in a new decade. Weighing less than five pounds, the tiny package with jet black hair arrived at The Birth Place in North Naples at 3:28 a.m., making her the first baby delivered in Lee and Collier counties in 2010.

The next baby of the new year, another girl, came a few minutes later at The Children's Hospital at HealthPark in Fort Myers, part of the Lee Memorial Health System.

For Perez, it's her fifth child. She delivered about a month early.

"She's tiny. But other than that she's fine," she said, looking down at her newborn cradled in her arms on Friday afternoon.

The mother was hospitalized Dec. 21 because she was leaking fluid. Doctors gave her medicine to slow her labor so the baby would have more time to grow and develop her lungs. A delivery was planned for Monday.

"She didn't want to wait," Perez said.

The baby is so small she's swallowed by her newborn clothes. She's 21 inches long. She weighed four pounds, 10 ounces at birth.

The Perez family celebrated Christmas at the hospital, which is part of the NCH Healthcare System.

Mom fell asleep early on New Year's Eve in her hospital bed and didn't even see the ball drop. She awoke to sharp labor pains. A few hours later she saw her baby for the first time.

"It went fast," Perez said. "The doctor wasn't even here to deliver it. It was nurses."

She dilated to a two and before she knew it she was delivering. Her son, Mariano, 11, stayed overnight. But the rest of her family went home to Immokalee. They couldn't make it back in time to see the birth.

"I had to miss it," said Isabella, 12, one of her other daughters, sadly. She cried when she saw her newest sister.

Older sister, Iris, 17, said she's eager to help care for the baby.

"We won't let her go," she said, adding that she's already held her a bunch.

At the time, mom was holding the baby as it snoozed. The dad, Israel, a farmworker, napped on a couch. He arrived at the hospital at about 4 a.m.

Isabella and Iris already are thinking of nicknames for their new sister. One suggested Vicki; the other wants to call her Yessi.

The parents are both 35. Victoria, a stay-at-home mom, said it's both exciting and hard to start over with a new baby. The couple wanted another miracle.

"She's my last," she said, looking tired. "No more."

She's eager to get out of the hospital.

"I'm ready to go home," she said. "I've been here for a while."

A second baby was born at The Birth Place in the morning on New Year's Day, but it didn't come until hours later.

"That's it. It was pretty quiet - unusually quiet," said Debbie Craig, a charge nurse at the hospital off Immokalee Road.

Perez went into labor at about 1 a.m., delivering a few hours later.

"It was so weird how all of the sudden it just happened in the middle of the night," Craig said.

A'Riana Nicole Outlaw was the first baby born in the new year in Lee County. She arrived at 3:33 a.m.

Her parents are Chris, 41, and Shawana, 31, of Lehigh Acres. They have eight other children combined, ranging from one to 22 years old.

On Friday afternoon, Shawana was too tired to talk on the phone. But she and the baby were doing well, said Chasity Devallon, her stepdaughter.

The baby weighed 5 pounds and was 18 inches long. She was in intensive care because she was having trouble breathing after birth, but her condition was improving, Devallon said.

The due date was Jan. 20. Outlaw went to the hospital at about 1 a.m. Friday because she was having contractions.

Devallon said her parents were excited when they learned the baby was the first one born in Lee County on New Year's Day 2010.

At Cape Coral Hospital, the first baby of the new year came at 10:18 a.m., weighing six pounds, eight ounces, said Karen Krieger, a spokeswoman for the Lee Memorial Health System.

By mid-afternoon, Gulf Coast Hospital in Fort Myers hadn't yet delivered its first baby, she said.

There were no deliveries at the Women's Center at Physicians Regional Medical Center off Collier Boulevard as of 3:30 p.m. Friday. There wasn't anyone in labor either, said Jennifer Meyers, a registered nurse on duty.

"I've got nothing to report," she said.

Earlier

After spending more than a week in the hospital, Victoria Perez got a special delivery on New Year's Day.

Her new daughter, Victoria Yessica, came a few hours after the world rang in a new decade. Weighing less than 5 pounds, the tiny package with jet black hair arrived at The Birth Place in North Naples at 3:28 a.m., making her the first baby delivered in Lee and Collier counties in 2010.

The next baby of the new year, another girl, came a few minutes later at The Children's Hospital at HealthPark in Fort Myers.

For Perez, it's her fifth child. She delivered about a month early.

"She's tiny. But other than that she's fine," she said, looking down at her newborn cradled in her arms on Friday afternoon.

The mother was hospitalized on Dec. 21 because she was leaking fluid. Doctors gave her medicine to slow her labor so the baby would have more time to grow and develop her lungs. A delivery was planned for Monday.

"She didn't want to wait," Perez said.

The baby is so small she's swallowed by her newborn clothes. She was 21 inches long.

The Perez family celebrated Christmas in the hospital. Mom fell asleep early on Thursday night and didn't even see the ball drop on New Year's Eve. She awoke at 1 a.m. Friday to sharp labor pains. A few hours later she saw her baby face-to-face for the first time.

"It went fast," Perez said. "The doctor wasn't even here to deliver it. It was nurses."

She dilated to a two and before she knew it she was delivering. Her son, Mariano, 11, stayed overnight. But the rest of her family went home to Immokalee. They couldn't make it back in time to see the birth.

"I had to miss it," said Isabella, 12, another daughter.

She cried when she saw her newest sister.

Older sister, Iris, 17, said she's eager to help care for the baby.

"We won't let her go," she said, adding that she's already held her a bunch. At the time, little Victoria was snoozing and so was her dad, Israel, a farmworker, who arrived at the hospital at about 4 a.m.

Isabella and Iris already are thinking of nicknames for their new sister. One suggested Vicki; the other wants to call her Yessi.

The parents are both 35. Victoria said it's both exciting and hard to start over with a new baby. The couple wanted another miracle.

"She's my last," she said looking tired. "No more."

She's eager to leave the hospital.

"I'm ready to go home," she said. "I've been here for awhile.

Earlier

A'riana Nicole Outlaw was the first baby to be born in the new year in Lee County.

She was 5 pounds and 19 inches long. She was delivered at Lee Memorial Health System's HealthPark in Fort Myers at 3:33 a.m. today.

Her parents are Chris and Shawana.

The baby is doing just fine, said Karen Krieger, a hospital spokeswoman.

In Collier County, the first baby was born at 3:28 a.m. at The Birthplace, part of the NCH Healthcare System. The baby weighed 4 pounds, 10 ounces and was 21 inches long.

The parents are Victoria and Israel Perez. They named their daughter Victoria Yessica.

A second baby was born later in the morning at the same hospital.

"That's it. It was pretty quiet - unusually quiet," said Debbie Craig, a charge nurse at The Birth Place.

The mother Victoria had been at the hospital for more than a week, where doctors were giving her medication to stop her labor to allow the baby to grow a little more.

She went into labor at about 1 a.m., delivering a few hours later. "It was so weird how all of the sudden it just happened in the middle of the night," Craig said